Polyfluorinated compositions are used in the preparation of a wide variety of surface treatment materials. Various materials made from perfluorinated compositions are known to be useful as surfactants or treating agents to provide surface effects to substrates. Surface effects include repellency to moisture, soil, and stains, and other effects, which are particularly useful for fibrous substrates and other substrates such as hard surfaces. Many such surfactants and treating agents are fluorinated polymers or copolymers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,000 discloses the telomerization of perfluoroethyl iodide or 1,2-diodotetrafluoroethylene with tetrafluoroethylene, and optionally with a lesser amount of chlorotrifluoroethylene, bromotrifluoroethylene, iodotrifluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene, 1,1-difluoroethylene or ethylene, to make fluorocarbon waxes with a molecular weight of 10,000 to 200,000 by use of an emulsion process using a purely aqueous phase as the reaction media while applying specific stirring energy. Using up to 15% of telogen and at least 85% olefins is disclosed. This technology does not permit useful oligomeric iodides with a molecular weight less than 2,000. This patent does not disclose oligomerization of tetrafluoroethylene and ethylene to produce short-chain oligomeric iodides or other useful oligomeric derivatives, such as the corresponding alcohols or thiols.
Customer requirements for surfactants and for surface protection products are in a state of constant evolution, and there is a continuing need for new cost-effective, environmentally friendly chemical intermediates and products. Industry is constantly searching for compounds with minimum environmental impact and higher fluorine efficiency. In particular there is a need for surfactants and surface treatment agents containing short chain fluorochemical groups wherein some of the expensive fluorocarbon moieties have been replaced with less expensive and more readily biodegradable moieties. The present invention provides such surfactants and surface treatment agents.